Douglas Rain
{{short description|Canadian actor and narrator (1928–2018)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2021}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=June 2013}}
{{Infobox person
| image = DouglasRainStratford.jpg
| caption = Rain in 1968
| name = Douglas Rain
| birth_name = Douglas James Rain
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1928|05|09}}
| birth_place = Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
| death_date = {{death date and age|2018|11|11|1928|03|13}}
| death_place = St. Marys, Ontario, Canada
| alma_mater = University of Manitoba
Banff School of Fine Arts
Old Vic Theatre School
| occupation = Actor, voice actor
| years_active =
| known_for = Voice of HAL 9000 in 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
| spouse = Lois Shaw
Martha Henry
| children = 3
| awards = Dora Mavor Moore Award
}}
Douglas James Rain (May 9, 1928 – November 11, 2018) was a Canadian actor. Although primarily a stage actor, he is best-known for voicing HAL 9000, the supercomputer in the film 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) and its sequel 2010: The Year We Make Contact (1984). He co-founded the Stratford Festival, and was nominated for a Tony Award for the Broadway play Vivat! Vivat Regina!.
Early life
Rain was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, to Scottish parents Mary and James Rain. His father was a rail yard switchman and his mother was a nurse. His parents emigrated to Canada from Glasgow, Scotland.{{Cite news |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/theatre-and-performance/article-douglas-rain-stratford-actor-who-voiced-hal-9000-in-2001-a-space/ |title=Douglas Rain, Stratford actor who voiced HAL 9000 in 2001: A Space Odyssey, dies at 90 |date=November 12, 2018 |newspaper=The Globe and Mail}}
He graduated with a B.A. from the University of Manitoba in 1950,{{cite web |date=December 8, 2018 |title=University of Manitoba: Archives & Special Collections |url=https://www.umanitoba.ca/libraries/units/archives/UofM_history/prominent_grads.shtml |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180828130526/http://umanitoba.ca/libraries/units/archives/UofM_history/prominent_grads.shtml |archive-date=August 28, 2018 |access-date=December 8, 2018 |website=University of Manitoba}} then studied acting at the Banff School of Fine Arts in Banff, Alberta and the Old Vic Theatre School in London, England.{{Cite web |title=Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia - Rain, Douglas |url=https://www.canadiantheatre.com/dict.pl?term=Rain,%20Douglas |access-date=2023-03-22 |website=www.canadiantheatre.com}}{{Cite news |last=Smith |first=Harrison |date=November 12, 2018 |title=Douglas Rain, Shakespearean actor who voiced HAL in 'Space Odyssey,' dies at 90 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/douglas-rain-shakespearean-actor-who-voiced-hal-in-space-odyssey-dies-at-90/2018/11/12/c27cee88-e682-11e8-bbdb-72fdbf9d4fed_story.html |newspaper=The Washington Post}}
Career
Rain was a founding member of the Stratford Festival of Canada in 1953 and was associated with it as an actor until 1998.{{cite news |first1=Andrew|last1=Pulver|access-date=November 12, 2018|title=Douglas Rain, voice of HAL in 2001: A Space Odyssey, dies aged 90|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/nov/12/douglas-rain-dies-2001-a-space-odyssey-hal-9000|date=November 12, 2018|newspaper=The Guardian}}
He performed a wide variety of theatrical roles, such as a production of Henry V staged in Stratford, Ontario, that was adapted for television in 1966.{{cite web |url=http://www.canadiantheatre.com/dict.pl?term=Rain%2C%20Douglas |title=Rain, Douglas |website=Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia |accessdate=August 2, 2018}}{{cite web | url=https://archives.stratfordfestival.ca/AIS/Details/people/9039 | title = Douglas Rain acting credits | website = Stratford Festival Archives | access-date = June 21, 2019}} In 1972, he was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Supporting or Featured Actor (Dramatic) for his performance in Vivat! Vivat Regina!{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-46178930|title=Voice of 2001: A Space Odyssey's Hal dies|date=November 12, 2018|work=BBC News|access-date=November 12, 2018|language=en-GB}}
= Voice of the HAL 9000 computer =
Stanley Kubrick cast Rain as the voice of the HAL 9000 computer for the film 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) after hearing his narration of a short documentary titled Universe and later chose him as "the creepy voice of HAL".{{cite news |last=Johnson |first=Alex |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/movies/douglas-rain-creepy-voice-hal-2001-dies-90-n935036 |title=Douglas Rain, the creepy voice of HAL in '2001,' dies at 90 |work=NBC News |date=November 12, 2018 |access-date=November 12, 2018 }} In the film, his voice was also sometimes processed with an electronic device called the Eltro information rate changer.{{when|date=March 2025}}{{cn|date=January 2025}}
Rain reprised the role for the sequel 2010: The Year We Make Contact (1984). He also briefly parodied it in a sketch on Second City Television where Merv Griffin (played by Rick Moranis) takes his talk show into outer space.{{cite web|title=Programs: Merv Griffin Show|url=http://www.sctvguide.ca/programs/griffin.htm|website=SCTV Guide}}
Personal life and death
Rain was married twice, first to Lois Shaw and then to Martha Henry, who was also an actress on stage, film and television, and had three children and a grandchild. He died of natural causes on November 11, 2018, at the age of 90, at St. Mary's Memorial Hospital in St. Marys, Ontario.{{cite web |last=Gray |first=Andy |title=Stratford Festival Founder Dies|url=https://www.mystratfordnow.com/56807/stratford-festival-founder-dies/ |work=Mystratfordnow.com |date=November 11, 2018 |access-date=November 11, 2018}}{{cite news |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/douglas-rain-dead-voice-hal-9000-2001-a-space-odyssey-was-90-1083429 |title=Douglas Rain, Voice of HAL 9000 in '2001: A Space Odyssey,' Dies at 90 |last=Vlessing |first=Etan |work=The Hollywood Reporter |date=November 11, 2018 |access-date=November 12, 2018}}{{cite web|url=https://www.techwarrant.com/voice-actor-hal-9000-has-passed-away/|title=Voice actor HAL 9000 has passed away |website=Techwarrant.com |date=November 12, 2018 |access-date=November 12, 2018}}
Filmography
- Christmas in the Market Place (1956, TV movie) - Joey
- Oedipus Rex (1957) — Messenger
- The Hill (1960, TV movie) - Jesus
- Just Mary (1960, TV series) — voice
- The Night They Killed Joe Howe (1960, TV drama, co-starring Austin Willis and James Doohan) — Joseph Howe
- Universe (1960, short film){{cite web|last=Ohayon|first=Albert|title=The 1960s: An Explosion of Creativity|url=http://www.nfb.ca/playlists/albert_ohayon/1960s-explosion-creativity|work=NFB.ca|publisher=National Film Board of Canada|access-date=November 10, 2011}} — Narrator
- One Plus One (1961) — segment "The Divorcee"
- William Lyon Mackenzie: A Friend to His Country (1961, short) — William Lyon Mackenzie
- Robert Baldwin: A Matter of Principle (1961, short) — William Lyon Mackenzie
- The Other Man (1963, TV miniseries) — David Henderson
- Twelfth Night (1964, TV movie)
- Fields of Sacrifice (1964) — Narrator
- Henry V (1966, TV movie) — Henry V
- 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) — voice of HAL 9000
- Talking to a Stranger (1971, TV miniseries) — Alan
- Sleeper (1973) — voice of Evil Computer and Various Robot Butlers
- The Russian-German War (1973, documentary) — Narrator
- The Man Who Skied Down Everest (1974) — Narrator
- One Canadian: The Political Memoirs of the Rt. Hon. John G. Diefenbaker (1976, TV miniseries, voice)
- SCTV (1982, "The Merv Griffin Show") — voice of HAL 9000
- 2010: The Year We Make Contact (1984) — voice of HAL 9000
- Love and Larceny (1985, TV movie) — Ashton Fletcher
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|0706937}}
- {{IBDB name}}
- {{IOBDB name|31678}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rain, Douglas}}
Category:20th-century Canadian male actors
Category:Male actors from Winnipeg
Category:Canadian people of Scottish descent
Category:University of Manitoba alumni
Category:Canadian male film actors
Category:Canadian male stage actors
Category:Canadian male television actors
Category:Canadian male voice actors